"The gay community calls themselves queer," she commented in part. "I firmly support marriage as being defined as between one man and one woman and I am not going to change my position. That said, I love all people and will continue to work towards promoting a vibrant City of Troy." Daniels later removed her own comment without explanation.

Troy High GSA bands together

"I am here today to say, I will not stop," Zhou wrote. "I will never stop fighting, never stop supporting until all people are treated equally."

Other members of the Troy High School GSA have also spoken up since Daniels' Facebook status surfaced.

"As an openly gay student and co-president and founder of my school's GSA, I was shocked to read such a statement from our own mayor," Troy High School junior Sabrina Lee said. "Members of the GSA are outraged, and some are in the process of e-mailing Mayor Daniels regarding the situation.

"Although it's tempting to dismiss her post as a mere attempt at humor or an acceptable case of freedom of speech, it's absolutely unacceptable for an official with that much responsibility to openly display her intolerance – especially knowing that it would incite a lot of controversy, anger, and insecurity."